Ironing machine



w. H. BRADLEY 2,395,801

` IRONING MACHINE original Filed June-19, 1940 y @Quays` Patented Mar. 5, 1946 :i 'j i' IRoNING MACHINE William H. Bradley, Fort Wayne, IndL, assigner to Horton Manufacturing Company, Fort Wayne, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Original application June 19, 1940, Serial No. 341,220. Divided and this application Marc 25, 1943, Serial No. 480,433

Claims.

The invention relates generally to ironing machines and more particularly to an ironing machine of the roll and shoe type. Y

This application is a division of my copending application, Serial No. 341,220, filed June 19, 1940, issuing on January 4, 1944, as Patent No. 2,338,163.

The general object of the invention is to provide a novel ironing machine of the roll and shoe type, of such size and weight that it may be easily lifted and placed on any available table suitable for the work, which'has a capacity equal to or nearly equal to much heavier power-actuated ironing machines for domestic use, and which is of relatively simple and inexpensive construction, thus making it particularly advantageous for ordinary household use.

Another object is to provide in an ironing machine a novel mounting of the motor and gearing for driving the roll, which conceals the motor and the gear casing and which facilitates the assembly of these parts of the machine.

A further object is to provide in an ironing machine a novel driving connection between the moto-r and the shaft supporting the roll, which includes a simplified pawl and ratchet drive permitting the roll to be turned forwardly by hand to facilitate placing an article between the roll and shoe.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is an end view on a reduced scale of an ironing machine embodying the features of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 3.

. casing' outside thereof.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the axis of y the roll. Y

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on the Yline ll-A of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a portion of the .roll drive mechanism.

The ironing machine disclosed herein is of the rolland shoe type and comprises generally a hase, indicated vat l0, and a support, indicated at Il,r located at one end of the base for supporting a roll l2. Coacting with the roll is a shoe I3 shiftably supported intermediate its ends by means indi-cated generally at I4. v The shoe supporting means I4 is shiftable to move the shoe toward and from the roll and is operated by a hand lever extending upwardly andover the shoe and roll, lThus the hand lever occupies a position simplifying'the construction'by reducing the v convenient to the operator and will not be coveredY up' by articles being ironed which extend .beyond the ends of the roll. The roll is rotated by means of a motor, the circuit for which may be controlled as an incident to the operation of the shoe shifting means I4, so that the roll remains stationary when the shoe isout of contact'therewithand Will be rotated when the shoe and roll are in engagement, as shown in said application Serial No. 341,200.

The inventionfdisclosed and claimed herein re-y lates to the manner of supporting the roll and the structure of the means for driving it. Generally described, the support l i extending vertically from the base I0 is provided at its upper end with a hollow head adapted to support the roll driving mechanism and to house a portion of it. Thus I provide a gear casing of two-part construction having a motor secured to one of said parts. The gear casing is adapted to be secured to the head adjacent one end thereof which is open, and the parts are so positioned that the motor is located within the head and the gear The .two parts of the gear casing are secured together and the vmotor is attached thereto,Y in a. unitary arrangement, and then they are assembled onto the head, the means for securing the gear casing to the head 'additionally securing the two parts of the casing together. Y

The motor is provided with a small fan located within the head, and vents are provided in the head so 'that'a current of air may be forced therethrough to keep the motor cool.

The motor is connected to gearing within the casing and a roll supporting shaft extends outwardly from the gear casing. The roll is so formed that it extends back over the gear casing and telescopes for a short distance over the head. Thus the gear casing and motor are entirely concealed.

The motor drives the gearing within the casing and the gearing includes a pinion mounted on a stub shaft and meshing with a gear on the end of the roll shaft. Mounted on the same stub shaft as the pinion is a gear connected with the motor and'provided on one face with a pawl for driving the pinion. T0 this end,Y the pinion isv made longenough tovmesh with the gear onthe ro-ll shaft and 'to provide a portion to cooperate with Vthe pawl.' By such construction the one part, namely, the pinion, serves as a ratchet and asa drive for the gear on the roll shaft, thus number of parts. The ratchet drive of the pinthe head is of generally ogival form to pro-` vide a neat appearance. The head 2D is provided with a plurality of vents 2l at its outer or rightv end, as shown in Fig. 3, while its left end is open, j

as shown in said gure.

Adjacent the open end of the head 20 isa closed gear casing of two-part construction loomprising a casing proper, indicated at 22, and a cover 23. To reduce the number of parts, the gear casing 22 and the cover 23 are secured together by the means employed to .secure the gear casing to the head 20. ThusI provide a plurality of ears Non the gear casing 22, a corresponding number of ears 25 on the cover 23, and also a corresponding number of ears 26 on the head `20. I then secure the three sets of ears together by bolts 21. The gear casing is thus located adjacent the open end of the head 28 but outside of the head.

A motor 30 is provided for driving the roll, which motor is preferably located within the hollow head 20. The motor is preferably secured to the gear casing, and as shown, is mounted on the cover 23 and is secured thereto by bolts 31. The motor 4thus is located within the head l2li and in a concealed position. The motor on its end opposite the gear casing carries a fan 32 to produce a current of air for keeping the motor cool.l Thefan 32 thus is located within the head 20 Where it is out of the way, and an airflow is createdY through the head, the current passing through the vents 2l and the open end of the head.

To facilitate assembly of the parts, `the gear Vcasing 22, the cover 23, and the motor 30 are all secured together as a unit before being attached to the head 2li, Thus the bolts 3lV permit the motor 38 to be secured to the cover 23. The casing-22 and the cover 23 are provided Ywith `additional ears 33 with a bolt 34 extending therethrough, which holds the two partstogether suinc-iently to permit its assembly to the head 20.

. Thus the bolt 3'4 secures the casing and cover together independently of the bolts 21 so that the gear casing, cover and motor are al1 assembled together as a unit before ybeing secured to the head 2G.

The gear casing has extending therefrom a roll supporting shaft 35 arranged to have secured thereto a pair of dished members 36 supporting the roll l2. The dished members '36 Vare located inwardly from the ends of the roll so that one end of the roll extends completely over the gear casing and telescopes a short distance 'over the head 2Q, as shown clearly in Fig. 3. Thus the motor and gear -casing are completely concealed within the roll and the head so that the construction presents a neat appearance.

Another feature 'of the invention lies in the simplied construction of the gearing within the gear casing, which connects the motor 30 with the roll shaft 35. This gearing is of the reduction type to reduce the motor speed down to the speed proper for rotation of the roll. In an ironing machine it is desirable to be` lable 'to freely rotate the roll in a forward direction by hand either when the roll is stopped or when it is being driven by the motor. Thus when an article to be ironed is placed upon the roll it is sometimes more convenient to place the advance edge oi the article along the top of the roll, then turn the roll-by hand forwardly to bring the edge of said article into the space between the roll and shoe, at which time the shoe is shifted into contact with the roll and the clamping action therebetween causes the article to be continued to be drawn in for ironing. For this purpose the roll Vdriving mechanism 'is provided with a one-way drive sothat the roll may be freely turned forwardly. 'In the present instance the one-,way drive is in Vthe form of a ratchet.

.More specifically, the gearing for driving the rollincludesa driven gear 4B (see Figs. 3 and 5) mountedV on' the end of the roll shaft 35 and within the gear casing 22. Mounted on a stub shaftJll within the gearing casing isa pinion 42 adapted to drive the gear 40. To drive the pinion, there is a gear 43 mounted on the stub shaft 4| and connected through other gears with the motor. The gear 43 is free to rotate relative to the pinion 42, and to connect the two, a ratchet drive is provided. To simplify the construction, the pinion 42 is substantially longer that is necessary merely to mesh with the gear 40 toprovide a portion adjacent the gear 43. Mounted on the face of the gear 43 is a pivoted pawl 44 which is springpressed toward the pinion -42 to engage between the teeth thereof and thereby effect a driving relation. When the roll is rotated forwardly by hand, the pinion 42- rotates in such direction as to force the pawl out of the way against the pressure of its spring, thus permitting the roll to be freely turned. However, the pawl 44 engages between the teeth of the pinion when the roll is driven forwardly by the motor. Since the pinion 42 may be manufactured in the length shown in the drawing at not much more cost than if it were only long enough to mesh with the gear 40, the cost of an additional ratchet is thereby elimina-ted.`

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that I haveprovided an ironing machine which is of relativelyA simple and inexpensive construction and particularly advantageous for use .in the ordinary household. The motor and gear casing are entirely concealed, lpartly within the roll and partly Within the head 20, so that the machine has a neat appearance. The assembly of these parts isl made easy by virtue of the fact that the gear-casingand its cover, together with the motor may all be assembled together as a unit before being Asecured to the head. The driving connection between the motor and the roll supporting shaft is simplified by utilizing a single `member, namely, the pinion 42, to serve both .as -a drive for the gear- 40 and as a ratchet Wheel,- g

I claim as my invention: Y

1. In .an ironing machine, the combination bf a vertically lextending fixed support including a hollow .head having an open end, a two-part gear casing, means for securing the .two parts of the gear casing together and for securing them to the open end of said head in close proximity thereto, a motor .rigidly secured to one of Lsaid parts and located within said head, whereby the weight of the motor is vertically valigned with A:said support andthe weight Aof the gear casing is closely ladjacent thereto, and a roll supporti-n tending `from the `other of said parts.

V2. kin an .ironing .mac-bine, the combination -of-.a

vertically extending xed support including a hollow head having an open end, a gear casing having an open end, a cover for the open end of the gear casing, means for securing the gear casing to the open end of said head and clamping said cover therebetween, a motor mounted on said cover and positioned within said hollow head, whereby the weight of the motor is vertically aligned with said support and the weight of the gear casing is closely adjacent thereto, and a roll supporting shaft extending from the gear casing.

3. In an ironing machine, the combination of a base, a fixed support extending upwardly from said base and having at its top a hollow head having an open end, a roll telescoped over said open end, a gear casing rigidly secured against said head at said open end and located within the roll, a motor mounted on said gear casing and located within said head, whereby the weight of the motor is vertically aligned with said sup port and the weight of the gear casing is closely adjacent thereto, and a shaft supporting said roll I and extending from said gear casing.

4. In an ironing machine, the combination of a fixed vertical support including a hollow head having an open end, a roll adjacent said, open end, a gear casing and a motor secured together as a unit, and a roll supporting shaft extending from said gear casing, said gear casing and motor being secured to the open end of said head with the motor located within the head and the gear casing outside of the head, the roll being mounted on said shaft and extending over said gear casing, the unitary arrangement of the gear casing and motor permitting operative assembly and adjustment thereof before securing the unit to said support, and said unit being adapted to be secured to said support in operative position beifore securing the roll to said shaft.

5. In an ironing machine, the combination of a xed support including a hollow head having an open end, a two-part gear casing, means for securing said tWo parts together independently of the mounting of the gear casing, a motor secured to one of said parts, whereby said gear casing and moto-r may be assembled in operative relation prior to securing them to said head, and means for securing said gear casing to said head with the notor inside and the gear casing outside' the head, said last-mentioned means additionally securing the two-parts of the gear casing together.

WILLIAM H. BRADLEY. 

